In Egypt today three people died in a violent protest. The people are protesting against many things, ranging from the authoritarianism of Hosni Mubarak to the rise in the cost of food and prevalent corruption. However, what caught my attention in all the reports about the protest is this BBC video report where the reporter says that people are protesting partly because Egypt has no dream, no vision. They want Egypt to dream again, to have a vision of greatness, like in the times of the Pharaohs.
The Egyptian story is a quintessential African story. Africa has been led for a very long time by people who have no dream for the continent. This lack of vision has made it difficult for anything of significance to be achieved. It is heartening to see that people are struggling to dream again and that some African countries such as Ghana, are struggling to inspire dreams in the minds of their people. I suppose nothing inspires a people more than a dream. It has been the stuff by which societies are transformed. Perhaps it is worth dying so that people may dream again!
Excerpts:
People are disgruntled about everything - about politics, economics, their lives, the state of the country. One could talk about the unemployment, and the poverty, and the corruption. People feel they are being treated with contempt by the government.
But the discontent is also wider than that. Egyptians will tell you that this country needs a dream, a vision. They had a dream under President Nasser, they had a dream under President Sadat, they had a dream under the pharaohs.
In the 30-year rule of President Mubarak, there has been no dream - it's been mundane, it's been about numbers, and even on those numbers, many will say they haven't delivered on simple things like education, sanitation, and so forth. So people are really seeing a government and a country in decline.
The Egyptian story is a quintessential African story. Africa has been led for a very long time by people who have no dream for the continent. This lack of vision has made it difficult for anything of significance to be achieved. It is heartening to see that people are struggling to dream again and that some African countries such as Ghana, are struggling to inspire dreams in the minds of their people. I suppose nothing inspires a people more than a dream. It has been the stuff by which societies are transformed. Perhaps it is worth dying so that people may dream again!
Excerpts:
People are disgruntled about everything - about politics, economics, their lives, the state of the country. One could talk about the unemployment, and the poverty, and the corruption. People feel they are being treated with contempt by the government.
But the discontent is also wider than that. Egyptians will tell you that this country needs a dream, a vision. They had a dream under President Nasser, they had a dream under President Sadat, they had a dream under the pharaohs.
In the 30-year rule of President Mubarak, there has been no dream - it's been mundane, it's been about numbers, and even on those numbers, many will say they haven't delivered on simple things like education, sanitation, and so forth. So people are really seeing a government and a country in decline.
2 comments:
Sometimes it takes an individual, or small group of people to risk their lives in order to arouse a change. After a period of suppression it does not surprise me that these Egyptians reacted the way they did. These people felt trapped, and in dire need of some sort of change in their world, and they expressed this in the way that would grab the attention of the world. which it did. watching this, I was reminded of events such as the civil rights movement. the people of Egypt will get their change eventually. they just need to continue to persevere.
I really like how you touched on the power of people dreaming together. There is such unity when a people have common goal and purpose. Without vision, people perish. It's important that leaders have a vision/dream that they hold fast to and have a vision/dream that their followers can take ownership of as well.
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